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Gail yelled out, 'That's a leopard!’ | Herald: "|They] are interesting, of a small mining operation. The said, ‘No, hang on, that's a panther!"". considering where they are, but they police noted a strange smell there Luckily for the Pounds, they had a may have been made with a blunt and found a pile of animal bones.” video camera handy and managed to _ penknife.” Police have logged their own capture evidence of the cats’ The government investigation sightings, with two officers relating visitation, with a naked Wayne _ yielded nothing, but media coverage how they nearly ran over large black filming the feline pair for 15 minutes of the events in Lithgow triggered a_ cats the size of dogs in the early before the cats moved on. The wave of anecdotal reports from the hours of the morning on local roads. footage caused a sensation after it public. Senior Constable Paul Semmut was sold to Channel Nine and remembers his sighting in August broadcast nationwide. Cats the Size of Large Dogs 2004 vividly (Lithgow Mercury, 26 The New South Wales Department The Pounds’ sighting was by no August 2004): of Agriculture's exotic animal expert, means the first for the township, and "It was on Scenic Hill, on Chifley Bill Atkinson, lent further weight to most likely not the last. For the past Road, on the eastern side of the War he footage: "That's a very big cat. | 20 years, big-cat reports have been Memorial [about 2.00 am]. I was would say, by the size of it, it could something of a fixture in the Lithgow driving by myself and | almost ran be a panther,” he told A Current Affair. Mercury, according to editor Len over the thing; it was pretty close. It Strangely, nobody thought to was about a metre long and had reshoot footage in the same black, silky fur...the way it ran ocation, from the same off, it looked like a cat. My first distance with the same zoom, 1 . reaction was it was a damn big ) provide a proper comparison The Pounds sighting Was cat. and give some idea of scale. . "We have had call-outs in the Another thing forgotten in the by no ise Lok) the first for same area—l've heard of three renzy Fi that the video actually the township, and most myself, mostly s ieworkers showed two cats—a large cat ° coming home from work. It's described as a "panther" and a likely not the last. nothing of a police nature, so we don't really worry about it; there's just the interest factor. | ikely eat its much smaller we did go out, we would domesticated cousin. probably get in touch with the Perhaps fittingly, given its Ashworth, who has recorded many of council ranger of the National Parks suspected big-cat status, what the yarns himself. He's been with the and Wildlife Service and report it. appened next was nothing short of newspaper for more than 50 years. I've always been a real sceptic abou a circus. Amateur researchers and “IT remember back when | was a_ these reports, but now I'm a believer.” government employees descended young graded journalist, | was at the Back in Gippsland, the mystery o on Lithgow to hunt for further police station one morning when a_ the slaughtered livestock remains evidence of the animal. Atkinson was person who was travelling through unsolved. Big black and brown cats he only one to conduct a _ town came in ina state of distress are still seen slipping between the conventional investigation by laying and said he and his family had been shadows near roads and across air traps and examining scratch frightened by a strange animal on a_ paddocks. And animals are stil marks on an acacia tree and large section of the highway near South dying in savage and unusua droppings left nearby. Unfortunately, Bowenfels," Ashworth recalls. circumstances. °o e came up empty-handed. "He said he had turned off into a “The scratchings and ripped bark side track off the highway below the About the Authors: were about 1.5 metres high on the Hassans Walls escarpment to answer Journalist Rebecca Lang and ree," Atkinson said at the time. "Itis a call of nature. When he got out of _ researcher/writer Michael Williams are the ard to believe a possum could have the car he heard a loud growling authors of Australian Big Cats (Strange done that." (Daily Telegraph, 15 May noise and saw a large cat-like Nation Publishing, Hazelbrook, NSW, 2001) Perhaps aware of how his animal... That was about 40 years 2010; reviewed in NEXUS 18/04). This remarks might be interpreted, he ago. The police went down there _ article is an edited extract from their book. qualified them in a statement run with him and he pointed out the Websites: www.australianbigcats.com.au soon after in the Sydney Morning area. The track led up to the vicinity and http://www.strangenation.com.au. smaller, domestic-looking cat. n the wild, a true big cat would Herald: "“[They] are interesting, considering where they are, but they may have been made with a blunt penknife." The government investigation yielded nothing, but media coverage of the events in Lithgow triggered a wave of anecdotal reports from the public. Cats the Size of Large Dogs The Pounds' sighting was by no means the first for the township, and most likely not the last. For the past 20 years, big-cat reports have been something of a fixture in the Lithgow Mercury, according to editor Len The Pounds' sighting was by no means the first for the township, and most likely not the last. rosy ort te Ashworth, who has recorded many of council ranger o the National Parks the yarns himself. He's been with the and Wildlife Service and report it. newspaper for more than 50 years. I've always been a real sceptic about "I remember back when | was a_ these reports, but now I'm a believer." young graded journalist, | was at the Back in Gippsland, the mystery of police station one morning when a_ the slaughtered livestock remains person who was travelling through unsolved. Big black and brown cats own came in in a state of distress are still seen slipping between the and said he and his family had been shadows near roads and across tightened by a strange animal on a paddocks. And animals are still section of the highway near South dying in savage and unusual Bowenfels," Ashworth recalls. circumstances. co "He said he had turned off into a side track off the highway below the About the Authors: Hassans Walls escarpment to answer Journalist Rebecca Lang and a call of nature. When he got out of _ researcher/writer Michael Williams are the he car he heard a loud growling authors of Australian Big Cats (Strange noise and saw a large cat-like Nation Publishing, Hazelbrook, NSW, animal... That was about 40 years 2010; reviewed in NEXUS 18/04). This ago. The police went down there article is an edited extract from their book. with him and he pointed out the Websites: www.australianbigcats.com.au area. The track led up to the vicinity — and http://www.strangenation.com.au. 68 * NEXUS About the Authors: AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2011 www.nexusmagazine.com